He is best known for leading several strikes against the United States Navy during the Battle of the Coral Sea, where they sank the carrier Lexington, the oiler Neosho and the destroyer Sims, and damaged Yorktown.

In December 1931, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and was selected for the navy pilot training program at Kasumigaura Air Group, from which he graduated in 1932.

[1] In May 1942, Lieutenant Commander Takahashi participated in Operation MO to capture Port Moresby, which resulted in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Unsure about the conflicting information from the sightings, and unwilling to break radio silence in case it revealed the presence of his fleet, Hara did not recall the strike force.

Takahashi stayed in the area for some time to estimate the damage inflicted on the US carriers and radioed his reports back to Hara.

Notably, at 1217 he advised Hara to cancel his earlier (1125) sinking report on the "Saratoga" (as the Lexington temporarily recovered from the damage and resumed operations) and await his return.

He was posthumously promoted by two ranks to captain, and, on 1 January 1943, a special letter of commendation was issued by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.